Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Google “monologuist” and appropriately the fifth entry that pops up is a mention of the late (and great) Spalding Gray. Well, look for a new name to be inching it’s way up the Google hierarchy very soon—Mike Daisey. To see what the buzz is about, go catch his new monologue Invincible Summer at the Public Theater as part of the Under the Radar Festival. I saw the show opening night and it was hilarious. And touching. And disturbing. His honest stories never revert to sappiness, and he keeps the pace brisk by jumping back and forth between various plotlines. He talks about some of the best things in life (Brooklyn, the subway, joyous weddings) to some of the worst (9/11, family betrayal, Paris Hilton).